


The Map

by Graymuse42



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cisco and Barry are Jim, Dubious History, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Don't Know Anymore, I don't care if that's not a tag I'm gonna tag it, I'll tag as I go, Treasure island AU, tell me what to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-06-18 12:15:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15485535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graymuse42/pseuds/Graymuse42
Summary: If Cisco made it out of this, he was going to write his parents. He was going to swear off sailing. And he was never going to trust one-legged cooks who smiled for no good reason!





	1. Captain

 

A man knocked on the door.

That wasn’t too surprising, they were an inn. People knocked on the door all the time. No, what was surprising was the time. It was one in the morning. Most of the customers were already in bed by now, and the bar had closed an hour earlier. They had just finished cleaning up from it.

The two boys who were working that night glanced at each other. Cisco, the younger of the two, shrugged. Barry, the older, nodded before opening the door. “May we help you?”

The man standing on the doorstep grinned from ear to ear. “Sure thing sonnie! I’m just looking for a place to stay for a bit. Sorry I’m late and all, but the weather was a nightmare!” Sure enough, the man’s coat was drenched with rain. Odd… there hadn’t been any storms today. He must have traveled far.

“Um, well, we have some rooms, just, be quiet and all. The other occupants are sleeping.”

“Oh, sure thing.” The man dropped his voice to a whisper, something mischievous in his voice. Almost as if it were a game. “My name’s Ralph, but you can just call me Captain.” There was something wild in his eyes, and though he was whispering, Barry was sure he heard the telltale voice of whisky. Or maybe it was just this man’s personality. He seemed a bit unpredictable.

“Alright Captain, my name’s Barry, and my friend over there is Cisco. We help run this inn. I’ll show you to your room, and then we can talk prices in the morning, depending on how long you wish to stay for.”

“Oh, I’ll stay for as long as you’ll have me!” Barry started escorting the Captain up the stairs as he continued talking in an exaggerated whisper. “Now, if you see any seaman coming up that road, could you give me a shout out? I’ll be sure to put in an extra shilling for you if you do!” He had stopped and was staring at Barry, hand outstretched and a question on his face.

Barry stared at the hand a moment before shaking it. “Alright, sure thing. If I see a seaman, I’ll be sure to let you know. Now let’s get you to your room.” Barry glanced down the stairs behind them towards Cisco, who shrugged again. Who was to argue with the customers?

 

Ralph, the Captain, soon found his way into their lives as a regular staple. Cisco and Barry would often find time in their days to listen to him tell stories about his many adventures. Most of them were tall tales, they were sure. But that didn’t make them any less worth hearing.

Of course, the rum he was chugging as he told these tales didn’t lend any credibility to his stories. “You realize he’s going to kill himself by drinking that much, right?” Their friend Caitlin muttered one day as they were cleaning up after the lunch rush. “That amount of alcohol is going to catch up with him sooner rather than later.”

“Come on Caitlin, he’s just having some fun! Something you could take some lessons in,” Cisco muttered as he wiped down the tables. Caitlin was a doctor who often visited them at work. Quite ahead of her time, but that wouldn’t stop her. Neither would ‘fun’, which is something she’d been avoiding for the last few years. “Sometimes a drink is good for the soul. Helps you relax a bit!”

“What would you know of it?” Barry asked his underage friend as he collected the plates. “Listen, it’s none of our concern if he drinks himself to an early grave. He’s the customer. Who are we to argue with him?”

Caitlin nodded. “Just… be careful around him. He seems a bit unpredictable, even without the alcohol.”

Cisco dropped his cloth off into a bucket of soapy water as he continued working, this time grabbing a broom to sweep up. “I get that. But so far he’s been fine. A bit of a loose cannon maybe, but harmless.

“I don’t doubt…” she muttered, eyeing the cutlass that was resting on the table next to him. So far he had yet to draw the weapon. So far.

The door opened and the three looked up. “Joe!” Barry shouted, grinning as his foster father stepped through the door.

The man accepted the hug from his son, before turning to the others. “Doctor Snow, good to see you again. Sorry about Ronnie.”

She nodded, her fiancé had died in a fire rescuing a family. He’d died a hero, but that didn’t make his absence easier.

“Cisco, good to see you’re still in one piece. With my son watching after you, I wasn’t sure you two would make the week.”

“Joe!” Protested Barry, but Joe’s attention was no longer on the three friends. He’d seen the man in the corner.

“Is that…it can’t be,” he muttered, moving forward to get a better look at the man. He strode forward, standing in front of the man’s table, arms crossed. “Well I’ll be. Ralph Dibny, as I live and breathe. Heard you went down with your ship, the fiddler.”

Ralph lost some of his easy-going nature. “Joe West. It’s been a while hasn’t it? The ship was sunk by pirates. I got blasted off the ship by some debris. Must have floated for a few days, because the next thing I knew I was waking up on the shore of some deserted island, half alive. That was about seven years ago now.”

The two stared at each other, before Joe nodded courteously. “Glad to see you alive. Stay out of trouble.”

Barry glanced at his foster father in confusion. “Do you know him?”

Joe nodded. “Oh I know him. He was quartermaster on a few of my ships. Friendly person. But he didn’t trust anyone, and more than that nobody trusted him. Be careful around him. Something tells me his ‘survival story’ is a lot more dubious than we’d care for around here. There’s a reason he’s waited till now to return to Bristol.” Joe shook his head, focusing his thoughts. “But enough of that. Barr, you said you’d stop by at least once a week and you haven’t been by in the last two. What’s been keeping you, son?”

Barry shrugged. “Sorry, work’s been late. Sure, I get free room and board which is nice, but sometimes the stress of it all gets to me.”

Joe nodded. “Well, be sure to swing by soon. Iris and Eddie have something they’ve been waiting on you to tell, and she’s starting to bug me.”

Joe left, and soon after Caitlin followed. Barry stared after them, before he noticed Cisco staring. “What?”

“Dude, I’m jealous! Your dad’s awesome! My parents haven’t written me once since I moved here three years ago. I could fall of the face of the earth for all they care.”   
Barry thought back to when he had first met the inventor three years back. They’d both been teenagers. Cisco had arrived on the docks with no home, and barely enough money to last a week. Barry had set him up with a job and a place to stay with Joe for a bit. Now only Cisco was the teenager, 17 years old. Barry was now 20, and ready to face the world.

Behind them, Ralph was starting to regain his relaxed mood as the rum dulled his senses down again. He drank till his head swam, and he didn’t know up from down. As if he knew what was coming next. 


	2. Siren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange customer leaves the boys with questions about their customer's identity.

Women didn’t stop by the inn too much. Caitlin would visit from time to time, but she was well known to the boys. So when a tall woman clad in a black cotton shirt and black pants strode through their door, they both stared slack jawed. They barely even noticed the cutlass hanging from her belt, which hung close to the hips.

They weren’t the only ones staring, but the Captain was eyeing her for a completely different reason.

“Laurel,” he greeted, glancing towards where his cutlass was lying on the table. “What’s the Siren doing this far from the sea?”

She smirked. “Ralphy. Is that any way to greet an old sea mate?”

Barry and Cisco made their way to some tables that were nearby, but not close enough to disturb whatever conversation they were witnessing. Who was this lovely woman and how did she know Ralph??

“I don’t recall us being mates. Was I ever that drunk?” He tipped back his drink, taking another swig.

She just watched him, and when he offered her the bottle she raised her hand to decline. “I heard around that there was an old sailor staying up here, who drank through the day and told stories of the high seas. And when I show up, who do I find but old Ralph? Last I saw you, you’d just finished burying the treasure. And now every man who went onto that island with you is dead. And then,” she leaned in closer, as if sharing a secret. It didn’t matter, Barry and Cisco both had excellent hearing. “Then I hear that the captain’s died in some back alley with nobody to tell his secret to. And not a trace of the map on him either,” she whispered. “Now, why would that be?”

In a split second Ralph and Laurel were on their feet, cutlasses raised and clashing. Barry and Cisco both bolted for cover, suddenly very glad that nobody bothered coming in at three in the afternoon. The blades clashed against each other, Ralph dodging faster than anyone that drunk had any business moving. He leapt onto one of the tables, stamping down on Laurel’s blade, who in turn kicked Ralph’s leg out from underneath him, yanking her blade out from under him just before he rolled off the table and brought his blade up in time to block her swing.

The fight honestly didn’t last long before Ralph proved himself just a little faster than her, bringing his blade around and slicing through her blade hand. She dropped the sword and ran as he chased after, stopping in the door to shout after her. “Stay away! And tell Thawne that he can have the map over my rotting corpse!”

He stumbled back towards the table, finally acknowledging the boys who stared from where they’d hidden behind an upturned table. “Fetch a man another rum, would you boys?” He sank back down into his seat, staring into the empty dining hall. What a mess this was turning into.

 

Barry couldn’t wait to tell his news to Joe and Iris, but when he opened the door to his childhood home he figured it could wait. Iris was already wrapping him in a hug as Joe ushered him into the dining area.

Eddie was there too, beaming. Wow, it wasn’t often he was on the other side of Eddie’s good humor. “I heard you had something to tell me?” Barry prompted. That was all it took, and he knew it.

“Dad, Barry,” Iris began, glancing back to her husband. “Eddie and I are expecting!”

There were hugs all around, and Joe finally broke out some of his celebration cigars that he was sure he wouldn’t be using for years.  Barry could barely contain his joy for the other two, and he knew Joe felt the same. This was huge. The couple had only been married a year, and they were already making a family.

The persistent nagging in the back of his head to get a move on with his life was back, but he just pushed it down. This was Iris’s big moment. He noticed Joe nodding towards him, so he stepped away with him for a moment as Eddie and Iris hugged.

“How’s Ralph doing?” Joe asked.

“He…actually got into a fight today.”

Joe stared. “With who?!”

“Someone by the name of Laurel? I’d never seen her before, but she spoke to Ralph like they were old buddies. Or, old something, they crossed swords. She finally ran off.”

Rubbing a hand across his brow, Joe swore. “I’m one incident away from calling the authorities on him.”

“Oh come on Joe, for what?”

“For piracy.”

Barry stared. “You don’t honestly think,”

“Barry he’s not the same. Something happened out there and he’s not talking about it. And now this? There’s a Laurel I heard rumor about a few years ago. A fierce pirate. Called herself the Black Siren.”

Barry remembered Ralph referring to her as Siren, and the head-to-toe black she was clad in. Still, that wasn’t anything concrete.

“Be careful who you accuse of piracy. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but you’ll need something a lot more concrete before going to the magistrate.” Joe nodded, and Barry tried changing the subject. “You’re going to be a grandfather,” he grinned, jabbing Joe lightly and grinning. “How does that feel??”

Joe sighed. “Rough. Eddie’s been struggling with finances recently, and I’m just waiting for them to ask for help. I wish I could offer them more.”

“We’ll figure things out Joe, we always do.”

He nodded. “Well, we’d best get back to the happy pair. No need to leave them alone for too long.”

Barry followed behind him, thinking back to the strange encounter he’d witnessed today. Maybe Ralph wasn’t a pirate. But then what was he doing dealing with buried treasure?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I promise I'm gonna pick up the pace soon! Unfortunately I'm trying really hard to follow the plot, which means we have to wade through all this boring background stuff. (Seriously, it picks up pace when they get to the island! SO MUCH) Thank you for reading! And for bearing with me!


	3. The Black Spot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Captain comes to a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update this! I couldn't decide how anything was supposed to happen for the longest time! I'm gonna try to update more regularly though, I've started to piece together how certain things need to go down. (Plus I saw a horrible adaption and realized that no matter how bad this was it would still be better than that.)

There was nothing unusual about strangers visiting the inn. There really couldn’t be. Every once in a while they had a regular visitor, such as Caitlin or Joe, but most of their customers were strangers searching for a place to stay while waiting for their ship to sail out. So when an elderly man came stumbling up to the inn, Cisco wasn’t too surprised.

He clutched at a walking cane, and peered ahead as though he had difficulty seeing. Cisco walked out towards him in the road, making sure not to startle him. “Can I help you sir?”

The man jolted a little, peering ahead before Cisco came into view fully. Barely three feet away. “Oh, young lad! Could you tell me what part of the country I’ve ended up in?”

“Bristol sir, you’re at the Star Inn.”

The man gestured for Cisco to come closer. “Could you help an old man inside?”

 

 

The door opened and Barry looked up from where he’d been cleaning off a table after the lunch rush had left. He instantly dropped the rag and stepped forward but was cut off by a wince from Cisco as the man behind him pressed the blade he had to Cisco’s throat that much closer to him. “Stay where you are boy, just because I can’t see you doesn’t mean I can’t hear you.” Barry glanced between Cisco, the blade, and the strange man holding his friend hostage. “All I want is to speak to my old shipmate Ralph. Direct me to him, and you can both be on your way.”

Cisco started moving towards where Ralph was seated, careful of the knife at his throat and the hand holding his own behind his back.

Cisco moved forward slowly, but the man didn’t seem to mind, not letting Cisco out of his grasp. Barry moved carefully, being sure to stay as close to his friend as he safely could.

Ralph was half drunk by this time, and was probably able to see less than the man holding Cisco hostage. He peered up at the man, squinting. “DeVoe?” He mumbled, confusion evident. “But you were…”

“On the same boat as the Siren, and all the other shipmates you sent adrift,” DeVoe finished, pushing Cisco away from him. Barry was instantly pulling Cisco away from the dangerous men.

“Follow me,” Barry muttered, drawing Cisco out of the room and towards the back of the inn.

Once they were out of the way of the confrontation, Barry took a look at Cisco’s wrist, making sure he was alright. “Barry, I’m fine. He just scared me a bit.” Barry didn’t need to point out that Cisco was still shaking from it.

He wouldn’t have had the chance either, because a moment later the man charged out of the inn, moving far faster than anyone with such dramatic sight difficulties should have any right moving.

Barry and Cisco ran back into the main room, staring at Ralph. He stood, cutlass out as he stared at a piece of paper in his hand.

“…The Black Spot,” he muttered, then keeled over.

 

Ralph came back to consciousness right as Barry and Cisco were about to try to drag him up the stairs to his room. He sat upright immediately, giving the boys a shock. “They’re coming for me!” He bolted up, charging for his room with the boys chasing after him.

“The black spot, got to get away, got to get away, got to escape, can’t survive the black spot, they can’t find me with it!”

Barry and Cisco stared at each other from the doorway. “Dude, what is the black spot?” Cisco asked eventually.

“Black spot is a pirate’s death sentence. But they’re not getting me, I know what they’re after, and they can’t have it. I don’t care if I have to bury the thing so they never-” then he froze and stared at the boys.

“You can take it!” He shouted, clasping them each by a shoulder.

“Um, run this part about pirates past us again?” Asked Barry, but Ralph was too busy with his idea.

“No no no! Don’t you see? You two can take the map, and then dig it up! I’ll never get back to dig up that treasure, no, you boys can have it! It fits perfectly!”

He ran to his chest, rummaging around in it for something. “Treasure? Map? What’re you talking about?!”

Ralph had something in his hands this time when he turned to them. “You boys take this, and go to that doctor now, you hear? Bring some of it back for me.” He shoved the map into Cisco’s hand and cackled. “They’ll be so busy looking for me, they won’t have time to think I gave it to someone else! Brilliant!”

And with that he was out the doorway, streaking down the stairs with his chest and out along the main road.

Barry and Cisco stared at each other, then the map. “…I guess we should take this to Caitlin?”

Cisco just shrugged. What else was there to say?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe!!!!   
> Yes. I'm taking liberties with the story. That's completely up for me to decide to do. :) Thank you for reading! I'm gonna try to update this sooner rather than later!


End file.
